February commissioning for Kenya’s Olkaria I and IV

The 280 MW Olkaria I and IV geothermal power plants in Kenya are scheduled for commissioning in February 2014, each of the two units to generate 140 MW. These will provide cheaper electricity and form part of Kenya’s plans to make power in the country more affordable.

Kenya ultimately hopes to reduce the cost of electricity to US7c/kWh from the current US$18.5c/kWh. The country has embarked on a plan to boost power production capacity from the current 1,712 MW to 5,000 MW and is relying on low cost sources like geothermal and wind power to achieve the goal.

The Olkaria geothermal-active region in Kenya has a potential of 2,000 MW. The plan is to build three more plants at Olkaria, namely Olkaria V, VI and VII to generate an additional 350 MW of geothermal power.